Heated dental instrument



March 22, 1932. o. H. PIEPER HEATED DENTAL INSTRUMENT Filed NOV. 50,1928 Patented Mar. 22, 1932 ?ATENT GFFI CE OSCAR H. PIEPER, OFROCHESTER, NEW YORK HEATED DENTAL INSTRUMENT Application filed November30, 1928. Serial No. 322,819.

This invention relates to dental instruments, and more particularly toinstruments which are heated, preferably electrically, during usethereof.

Heated instruments for use in dental work have come into extensive use.These instruments are highly eflicient for certain purposes, but areopen to the objection that great care is required in manipulating them,as

W they are apt to cause serious burns if brought into contact with thelips or other fleshy parts of the patients mouth. The conditions of useof dental instruments are frequently such as to render it extremelydifficult, if not impossible, to prevent contact of the instrument withthe patients mouth. Realizing these facts, I provide a guard memberwhich extends about the shank portion of the instrument and along thesame a proper distance to prevent contact of the hot shank of theinstrument with the patients mouth.

It is desirable that such a guard member be removable in order thatmaterials which collect in the same may be readily removed and theinstrument, as a whole, maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Iprefer, for this reason, to mount the guard member in such manner as topermit ready removal thereof. This guard member is provided with anopening or slot topermit removal thereof from about an instrument whichhas a head of such size, or so disposed, as to project outwardly beyondthe periphery of the outer end of the guard member. While I prefer tohave the guard member removable, this is not essential to its functionas a guard member, and my invention comprehends, in its broader aspects,a guard member which is disposed to protect the patients mouth fromcontact with the hot shank of the instrument, whether such guard memberbe removable or be permanently associated with the instrument. Myinvention also has to do with the construction of the instrument itself,particularly the base portion thereof, whereby the elements thereof areeffectively insulated from each other and the guard member is insulatedfrom the hot metal portions of the instrument so as not to be heatedtherefrom. Further objects and advantages of my invention will appearfrom the detailed description.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an axial sectional view through a dentalinstrument and a guard member therefor constructed in accordance with myinvention, illustrated as applied to a hand piece, which is shown partlyin section;

F 2 is an elevation of the instrument and the guard therefor as applied;30

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the guard member removed from the instrument;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the instrument with the guard member removedtherefrom; and

5 is an elevation of the head and shank portions of the instrumentillustrating the manner of removing the guard member from about thesame, the guard member being shown in section.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to burnisher which comprisesa tubular metal shank 1 in the upper end of which is secured a reducedneck 2 of a head 3. This head is of known construction and comprises aburnishing finger 4t projecting from the head at one side thereof and anarm 5 projecting from the head at the other side thereof and carrying,at its outer end, a burnishing ball 6. The head 3 is of metal and neck 2thereof is in intimate contact with the upper end portion of shank 1 soas to be readily heated therefrom by conduct-ion.

The other end portion of shank 1 is dis posed within the end of a metalsleeve 7 formed of brass or other suitable material. The upper portionof this sleeve is interiorly threaded and the shank is secured thereinby a suitable cement 8, or in any other suitable manner. The lower endportion of shank 1 is reduced in diameter to provide an ele ment 9 whichseats within an enlarged bore in the upper portion of a tubular member10. This member 10 is formed of a synthetic resin known commercially asbakelite which is moulded between the outer sleeve 7 and an inner brasssleeve 11 and a brass nipple 12.

The two sleeves and the nipple are disposed in concentric spacedrelation, sleeve 11 pro jecting outwardly beyond the lower end of sleeve7, and nipple 12 projecting outwardly beyond the lower end of sleeve 11,these sleeves and the nipple being thus dis posed in step arrangement.Sleeve 7 is preferably provided with several recesses or indentationsinits inner face to provide suitable anchorage for the material of member10, and sleeve 11 is preferably nteriorly threaded and nipple 12 iscorrugated, for the same purpose. 'A collar 13, preferably formed of thesame material as member 10, is molded about sleeve 7, this collar beingof great diameter relative to the sleeve. The collar is provided with anexteriorly threaded neck 14 extending from the upper face thereof andwith an upwardlytapering extension 15 which projects from the upper. endof the neck and extends to the upper end of sleeve 7 so as toeffectively enclose the same. A heating element 16 in the form of aresistance coil or strip, is disposed within the tubular shank 1. Oneterminal of this member 16 is connected by a lead 17 to nipple 12, theother terminal being connected by a lead 18 to sleeve 11. Theinstrument, thus con structed, is rugged and well capable ofWithstanding the stresses to which it is subjected in use, all of themetal parts being effectively enclosed when, the instrument is appliedto a hand piece. I have illustrated the instrument as applied to a handpiece 19 by means of which the heating element 16 can be connected intoan electric circuit.

This hand piece is provided with a collar 20 carried by a metallic strip21, this collar receiving the inner or lower portion of sleeve 11. Aresilient contact strip 22 is disposed within the hand piece for contactwith the nipple 12. A sleeve 23 is slidableon the hand piece 19 andcarries a button 24 which operates in a slot 25 of the hand piece. thisbutton being disposed to move strip 22 into contact with the nipple 12when sleeve 23 is moved into its extreme position toward the instrument.The strips 21 and 22 are suitably supported in the hand piece 19 and areelectrically insulated therefrom and from each other, these strips beingconnected to the opposite sides of an electric circuit in a manner wellunderstood in the art. When sleeve 23 is moved in to its circuit closingposition, its upper end contacts with a ring 26 which screws upon theend of the hand piece and cooperates with means carried thereby forefiectively clamping the instrument in the hand piece. Any suitable orpreferred form of means for clamping the instrument in the hand piececan be used. I have illustrated clamping means similar to that disclosedin my co-pending application for switch handle and instrument, SerialNo. 136,501, filed September 20, 1926. It is not thought necessary todescribe the clamping means in detail, it being sufficient that suitableclamping means for securing the instrument in the hand piece isprovided.

When sleeve 23 is moved into circuit closing position, the heatingelement 16 is connected into the electric circuit and serves to heat theshank 1 of the instrument to a relatively high temperature, head 3 beingheated from this shank by conduction. The shank 1 is heated to such ahigh temperature, particularly when it is necessary to heat the head 3 Ihave provided a guard member 26a in the form of a truncated cone, thismember being interiorly threaded at its base 27 and screwing onto theneck 14 of collar 13 which constitutes a base structure for reception ofthe guard member. Member 26a is preferably formed from a material whichis an electric and a heat insulator, the synthetic resin,

known commercially as bakelite, being preferably used for this purpose.Any other suitable or preferred material, however, may be used for theguard member. This member extends about the shank 1 in concentric spacedrelation thereto and is out of contact with the hot metal parts of theinstrument for its entire length. By tapering the guard member towardthe head of the instrument, interference by this member with themanipulation of the instrument in the use thereof is eliminated.

The guard member extends along the shank of the instrument a properdistance to assure that this hot shank will not come into contact withthe patients mouth or lips. This provides a highly efficient devicewhereby a dental instrument heated to a relatively high temperature canbe safely used without danger of burning the patient.

The ard member 26a is preferably provided with a slot 28 extending fromthe upper end thereof to the base portion 27. This slot is of properwidth to accommodate the ball 6 of head 3. When it is desired to removethe guard member from ab out the instrument, it is first unscrewed fromneck 14 of collar 13 and is then moved upwardly along shank 1 until arm5 of head 3 enters the upper portion of the slot. The guard member isthen tilted in the direction of finger 4 of the head, as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 5, and is then slid upwardly until arm 5 is at thebottom ofslot 28. This disposes finger 4 in the relatively wide baseportion of the guard member which may then be tilted in the oppolOZ)site direction so as to bring the base portion 27 thereof upwardlybeyond finger 4. This position of the guard member is shown in fulllines in F ig. 5. The member 26a may then be removed from the instrumentby moving it toward head 6 which passes through the slot 28. Byreversing this operation, th guard member can be readily replaced. Ihave illustrated my invention, by way of example, as used in connectionwith a burnisher. Dental instruments are of a great variety of shapesand sizes and there are many of such instruments which can be readilypassed through the outer or smaller end of the guard member 26a axiallythereof without utilizing tire slot 28. This slot is not, therefore,essen tial in all cases, though I preferably provide it in order thatthe guard member may be used with instruments h ving elements whichproject outwardly beyond the guard member. Obviously, the guard membercan be permanently associated with the instrument, if desired, in whichcase the provision of the slot 28 would be unnecessary.

As above indicated, changes in construction and arrangement of parts ofthe invention may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the field andscope of the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fallwithin the scope of the appended claims, in this application in whichthe preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

hat I claim is 1. In combination, a base structure, a dental instrumentcomprising a shank mounted in said structure and a head carried thereby,and a guard member removably mounted on the base structure and extendingalong the shank in spaced relation thereto, said memher having a slotextending lengthwise thereof from its outer end and adapted toaccommodate an element of the head in the removal of the guard memberfrom about the shank.

2. In combination, an instrument holder, an instrument mounted in saidholder and comprising a shank provided at its outer end with a laterallyprojecting head, and a guard member removably mounted about andextending along said instrument in spaced relation thereto, the lengthof said head being greater than the interior width of the outer end ofthe guard member, said member being provided with a slot extendinglengthwise thereof from the outer end of the guard member and adapted toaccommodate an element of the head in the removal of the guard memherfrom about the shank.

In combination, an instrument comprising a shank and a head at one endof the shank and projecting laterally therefrom, a base structurepermanently associated with the instrument and remote from said head,and a guard member removably mounted at its inner end on the basestructure and extending therefrom along the shank in spaced relationthereto, the guard member being provided with a slot extendinglengthwise thereof and from the outer end of said member, said slotbeing adapted to accommodate an element of the head in the removal ofthe guard member from about the shank.

4. In combination, an instrument holder, an instrument mounted in saidholder and comprising a shank provided at its outer end with a laterallyprojecting head, and a tubular guard member removably mounted about andextending along said instrument in spaced relation thereto, the lengthof said head being greater than the interior width of the outer end ofthe guard member, the bore of the guard member increasin in width fromits outer end to its inner end and said member being provided with aslot extending lengthwise thereof from the outer end of the guard memberand adapted to accommodate an element of the head in the removal of theguard member from about the shank.

5. In combination, an instrument holder, an instrument mounted in saidholder and comprising a shank provided at its outer end with a laterallyprojecting head, and a tubular guard member removably mounted about andextending along said instrument in spaced relation thereto, the lengthof said head being greater than the interior width of the outer end ofthe guard member, said guard member being of frusto-conical shape andthe wall thereof being of approximately uniform thickness, the guardmember being provided with a slot extending lengthwise thereof from theouter end of the guard memher and adapted to accommodate an element ofthe head in the removal of the guard member from about the shank.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 1

